“I first came to the Royal Opera House after I moved over from America as a student, say 12 years ago. It was only last year though, that I thought, 'Yes, I’m really going to get into this!'. So I’ve come to more operas and ballets than ever before; tonight I am here, but this week I’m also watching The Ring. It’s just incredible seeing and hearing such great performances; a completely unique experience.”

"I’ve been coming to Covent Garden for over 30 years, and I’m a devotee to both ballet and opera! Tonight will be wonderful - how could it not be, with Angela singing Song to the Moon and Bryn’s Mefistofele? Normally I come here with my son, who joins me from work. I remember bringing my husband to see Sylvie Guillem and each time she extended her leg above her head, he winced next to me! We feel totally comfortable at the house; at home you might say."

"It’s been a gradual falling in love with Covent Garden for us; we came to our first ballet nine years ago, The Sleeping Beauty, and now we come to pretty much every ballet. We have been to one opera before, but it’s the ballet and the dancers we like to follow; Edward Watson is a particular favourite, and very suitable that he, as a British dancer, should be up dancing first in front of the Queen."

"Mum has been bringing us here since we were 4 and 5, and in the old house we used to know all the staff; the doormen, cloakroom assistants and backstage tour team. It’s great to keep coming, now in our own right, and I suppose we’ve become ballet buffs. We've also been on countless backstage tours over the years - it's a great insight into what happens behind the scenes.We are really looking forward to seeing Ed Watson dance with Natalia Osipova tonight, and of course Thiago and Marienela together."

We've been coming since the 1960s and Mary first came here as a schoolgirl in 1947. The first performance we saw here was La Fille mal gardée which friends brought us to and we were hooked! We were fortunate enough to see Nureyev and Fonteyn many times over the years. This gala is fantastic as it gives the opportunity to see so many greats on one stage."

"Rather than any one thing or person, the gala shows the huge levels of contribution from everyone involved; the corps de ballet, the orchestra, the chorus and backstage. It certainly feels like a special evening, and how wonderful that the Queen was part of the audience.The highlight for us was Wayne McGregor's piece and as younger audience members we’re delighted to see Kasper and Kevin at the helm of such a vibrant organisation and group of artists, taking it forward in really exciting ways."

"It was hard work, but also great fun putting together the gala with Kevin. We wanted the gala to be a celebration of all the people who make ROH special. Not just the stars, but all the incredible and passionate people working backstage. I was also keen to make it more visually interesting than galas can sometimes be, and I was really proud of the result."

Kevin O'Hare:"I was thrilled that the evening turned out exactly how Kasper and I had hoped, in that it was a true celebration of everyone who works across this house. It is such a great feeling when everyone is pulling together for one special event and is happy to go that extra mile to make it work. To have HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh made a fantastic night even more special…here’s to the next one!"

A few of your tweets...

Loved #ROHgala tonight. So much great dance & opera. Very happy to see Neumeier performed in uk & never been so close to the queen before!Robert Binet

After the Rain is Wheeldon at his most soulful and haunting. Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares have never been more beautiful. #ROHgalaLeena Hassan

Last #ROHgala tweet - this was a night to remember. The @RoyalOperaHouse truly is an Extraordinary World! Bravo to all involved!DaveTriesBallet

Operatic highlight of #ROHgala was @Bryn_Terfel's Geist der stets verneint. Go on @Queen_UK he deserves a knighthood for the whistling aloneKaren McLernon

What did you think of the Our Extraordinary World Gala?

]]>0Royal Opera Househttp://www.roh.org.uk/?p=153302013-01-02T11:55:33Z2012-10-31T16:15:22ZThe Royal Opera are deeply saddened to hear of the death of British baritone Robert Poulton, who was tragically killed in a car accident late last night.

Robert made his debut with The Royal Opera in the role of Sciarrone in Tosca in September 2000 and his recent roles for The Royal Opera included Baron Douphol in La traviata and Marco in Gianni Schicchi last Season.

Antonio Pappano, Music Director, The Royal Opera said:

"Together with the whole ROH family I express my shock and sadness at the news of baritone Robert Poulton's death due to a car accident. He was a wonderful colleague blessed with a superb voice. He and I recently worked together in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, where we laughed all day long, and in Golden Story, a Shakespeare music and drama event at which he sang a compelling Macbeth. Our sincere condolences to his entire family for this most tragic loss.”

With Halloween happening this week, we asked our social media following for their favourite spooky operas. Here are five that were chosen for their spine-tingling atmosphere:

The Turn of the Screw
Based on the Henry James novella of the same name, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw is the classic operatic ghost story. An unnamed Governess moves to a country house to take care of two children, only to discover supernatural goings on, and hints of past abuse. As she gets to know the children better, she becomes increasingly convinced that they are suffering some form of demonic possession. Britten leaves it to us to decide whether or not the ghostly happenings at Bly House are in fact all in the mind of the Governess, as the tension builds to a chilling and tragic final scene.

Don Giovanni
The final day of opera’s lascivious anti-hero begins with a cold-blooded murder and goes downhill from there. The sharp shock of one of opera's most famous overtures plunges the audience into the piece and Don Giovanni's hastening towards damnation, pursued by those he has wronged, until, late in the evening when he is visited by a ghostly dinner guest. It might have some moments of musical beauty (the aria 'Batti batti bel Masetto' for example) but Don Giovanni remains a work bookended by some of Mozart's most dark and dramatic music.

Salome
The passionate Dance of the Seven Veils is the most famous part of Strauss’s Salome. For fans of the macabre, however, it’s the unveiling of the severed head of John the Baptist that steals the show. As the deranged Salome embraces the head and crawls about the stage with it in David McVicar’s Royal Opera production, the blood soaks her dress and skin. Her passionate kissing of the head shocks Herod and his guests so profoundly that the Tetrarch (hardly a figure of virtue himself) orders Salome’s execution. This final scene is harrowing – but also deeply moving, as McVicar encourages us to feel sympathy for this troubled heroine.

Macbeth
With witches and ghosts aplenty, no Halloween opera list would be complete without Macbeth, Verdi’s first Shakespearian opera. Verdi adored Shakespeare’s plays, and his score faithfully reproduces the frenzied emotions of the Bard’s original drama. As ambition transforms Macbeth to a murderous tyrant hell-bent on retaining power, Lady Macbeth, who first stirred his ambition, descends into insanity. With the unexpected appearance of the ghost of Banquo, and a hallucinatory vision conjured up by the Witches of Banquo’s ghostly descendants, this is certainly an opera to send shivers down your spine.

Elektra
King Agamemnon of Mycenae has been murdered by his wife Klytämnestra and her consort, Aegisth. Agamemnon’s daughter Elektra becomes obsessed to the point of insanity with avenging her father’s death. She gets her desire when her brother Orest returns to Mycenae, and Klytämnestra, Aegisth and their followers are killed in one of opera’s most terrifying bloodbaths. But what follows is even more chilling, as the exultant Elektra literally dances herself to death. Strauss’s score depicts every shade of his characters’ tormented emotions, and the grim force of destiny, not least in the monumental ‘Agamemnon’ motif that opens and closes the opera.